Decision On PoK Should Have Been Taken During 1971 Indo-Pak War: Rajnath Singh In Himachal
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Kangra in Himachal Pradesh on Monday to attend a felicitation ceremony for the families of soldiers who have laid down their lives for the country.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday that the decision on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) should have been taken during the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. Singh said this while addressing a function to honour martyrs' families at Nadaun in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district.
"We have recently marked the Golden Jubilee of victory in the 1971 war. The 1971 war will be remembered in history as the war fought for humanity instead of property, possession or power," PTI quoted Singh as saying. "There is only one regret. The decision on PoK should have been taken at that time itself," he said.
On the eve of December 3, 1971, Pakistan launched a series of air strikes against Indian air bases in the western sector, leading to the third Indo-Pak War. This war led to the creation of a new country, Bangladesh.
Last week, Rajnath Singh said that the Indian Army had the capability to give a befitting reply to any power looking at the country with evil intentions and when it engages with China, it does so on an equal footing.
Singh made the remarks during a book launch event to release a five-volume book on BJP ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay in the presence of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. When China conducted the first nuclear test in 1964, Deendayal Upadhyay was the first one who spoke in favour of India conducting its nuclear test, PTI quoted Singh as saying.
"When India carried out its first nuclear tests in 1998 in Rajasthan under the leadership of then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the idea was not to use the weapon against any country but to maintain a deterrent," Singh had said.
"Because of that deterrence, the Indian Army today has full confidence in self-defence. Today in 2022, when India’s army engages with China, it does so on an equal footing. If any power looks towards India with evil intention, Indian soldiers have the capability to give a befitting reply," PTI quoted the Defence Minister as saying.
Singh said the country’s goal was not only to make items for its needs, but also to export defence items to other countries.
Rajnath Singh informed the gathering that the Defence Ministry had issued three "positive indigenisation lists" of 310 defence items that would not be procured from outside under any circumstances after a deadline. All those equipment will be made in India, he said.
“You will be happy to know that we have earmarked a major part of our budget for buying only from domestic vendors,” he told the gathering.
(With PTI, ANI Inputs)
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